Shift
by EasyAsFallingAsleep
Summary: Emma and her entire family have been Slytherins. So what happens when everyone finds out she isn't the perfect little pureblood she's to be? Throw in some Death Eaters and those charming yet infuriating Marauders and you've got one hell of a year
1. Chapter 1

Helloooo and welcome to my story! This is actually a couple years old, and I'm re-writing and re-posting it. I'd be very happy if you reviewed, even if you don't like it. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.

I actually started writing this story when I was six years old. I mean, it was written on printer paper, set during Chamber of Secrets, with marker illustrations and no quotation marks, but the workings and basic plot were all there. So here it is, completely rewritten!

_Prologue_:

When I was seven, my mother's friend Lucretia Black scolded me for asking to give money to a homeless beggar on Diagon Alley. I didn't understand what could be so wrong with wanting to help someone- but Mrs. Black explained that she knew this man, and he was muggle-born. A _mudblood_.

"He's beneath you, dear," she told me. We were purebloods, and this man didn't deserve our help. My mother quicky agreed.

This didn't make much sense to me. I'd heard that muggles were bad- we were given they gift of magic, and they weren't. It seemed simple enough. Now I was hearing that there were people with magic who were beneath us as well?

To complicate matters further, my mother and I passed the same man about a month later. He looked even more ragged than the last time we saw him, and my seven-year-old heart went out to him.

"Mum, please?" I begged, "Please mum? Just give him a sickle, _please?_"

After a moment of hesitation, she gave in. "Oh, mudbloods aren't so bad anyhow," she said with a sigh. My mother, who had joined her friend before in saying that mudbloods were bad, was now saying they weren't. This was making my head hurt.

As time went on, I came to understand that my parents, as proud of their heritage as they were, weren't as prejudiced against muggles and mudbloods as some of their friends were. My mother was just very fashionable- she enjoyed being a part of pureblood high society. If that meant hastily agreeing with a more prejudiced friend, then that's just the way it was.

Discussing the filthiness of mudbloods over tea was perfectly normal, although she would never actually go out and, say, try to pass a piece of legislation to make muggle-hunting legal.

No, my parents weren't as nuts as some. They never had that pushy 'you _must_ be a Slytherin!' attitude, either.

Then again… the idea of me _not_ being in Slytherin never actually came up. Why would it? My parents had been in Slytherin. So had my brother and my sister, and all the rest of my family, except for my Great Aunt Lida the Hufflepuff- but she was always a bit odd anyways. So as soon as I went to Hogwarts and got to being Sorted I expected the Hat to put in me in Slytherin just like _that_.

There I was, sitting in the Great Hall with the Sorting Hat covering half my face. It obstructed everything from sight, but I could practically _hear_the expectant gaze of my brother, Madden. He and his friends were smiling, sure that I was about to join them at their table. My best friend Narcissa Black had just joined them, welcomed by people we had known our entire lives.

But the hat told me I wasn't fit for Slytherin.

That was a shock worse than the Giant Squid greeting us at the lake. Not… fit… for _Slytherin?_That couldn't be right, but there was the Hat was prattling on about all my un-Slytheriny traits. Of course, I freaked. I told it flat out that I was supposed to be there, that I was a Slytherin through and through.

After arguing with it for some time, it relented, and off to the land of silver and emerald I went. I was in the place I was supposed to be.

Being Slytherin was great- I felt like I was part of some elite part of the school. My family's legacy immediately secured me friends, and for a time I was happy.

Soon I realized that being in Slytherin meant being completely segregated from everyone else. We were meant to think, "We're pureblood, we're proud, get out of our sight or we'll hex you."

Putting it bluntly: I hated it.

But really, what could I do? The Dark Lord was coming into power. Speaking your mind was an option for the older Slytherins, but us youngsters were part of a new generation of intolerance and arrogance.

By keeping my mouth shut I made friends. By keeping my mouth shut, I was well known, with a high status in school. I won dates and the hearts of worthy Slytherin boys, most notably the handsome Evan Rosier. By keeping my mouth shut I wasn't gossipped about, wasn't called a "deluded blood traitor", like Bellatrix and Cissy called their cousin Sirius and their sister Andromeda.

I was one of the cool Slytherin girls, which was good enough for me to look past everything I didn't like.

Predictably, one day I had to snap.

I don't know where exactly it began, this snapping, but I have a memory of a time during our fifth year, when I walked into a bathroom before class to do my makeup. Evan and I had just broken up for the fifth or sixth time, and I was in a terrible mood, so I didn't immediately noticed two first years, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff in the corner. When I did, I realized the Hufflepuff was sobbing and blubbering about how she just wanted to do magic and didn't understand why people made fun of her. The Ravenclaw was rubbing her shoulders, and trying to explain that it was okay to be a muggle-born.

"It doesn't matter what those nasty Slytherins say," the Ravenclaw said soothingly, "No one else cares that your parents are muggles. Just ignore them,"

I felt a knot tighten in my stomach and my face grew much redder than the blush I was powdering on. I turned and left before they had time to notice me or the color of my robes.

About a week later, Cissy and I were walking back to the castle from the Greenhouses after Herbology. There had been a snow storm, and the grounds were covered in a soft blanket of whiteness. A few Hufflepuff girls were laughing as they threw snowballs at each other- I thought one of them might have been the one I'd seen in the bathroom.

"Did you know that almost _every single_ _kid _that got sorted into Hufflepuff this year is a Mudblood?" Cissy sniffed, watching them. "Uh-huh. It's so depressing. Where is this school _going_?"

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess… I don't know. Why shouldn't they be here? I mean, you can't judge people just because they're _born._"

Her eyes widened in shock. "Emma. Really? They all think they're _sooo_ smart and cool just because they get to join the ranks of us magical ones. Well, they're like, flukes! Muggles shouldn't have magic kids! They're like, _lesser beings_."

"But why?" I asked, thinking of the crying girl. "So maybe muggles _are_bad, I don't know, but why does that make muggle-born witches and wizards so bad? They still have magic."

Cissy threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't _know,_Emma, it just does!"

I stopped walking. "So you're just going to go along with it?"

She stopped too. "Yes! Because that's the way it's meant to be! You know that, right?".

My stomach dropped and my throat closed up. I managed to nod my head, and she smiled in relief. "Come on, Em," she said perkily, "Let's go fix our hair before Charms!"

Even a while after that conversation, I couldn't forget what she had said- 'That's the way it's meant to be'. It didn't seem right at _all._I started hanging out with my Housemates less and started spending more time to myself. I told them I was just focusing on my studies more, as OWLS were coming up, which was a sufficient enough answer. I thought that Madden, my brother, might have picked up on something, but he was more interested in his new girlfriend than anything else.

I remember how as I became more removed from the other Slytherins, I learned to listen to their conversations as an outsider. By doing this I was able to see how twisted they truly were. For instance, when a few guys cursed this mudblood Mary, they thought it was the funniest thing in the world- I couldn't even bring myself to pretend to laugh. It was just mean.

My woes weren't helped as Cissy started slipping away when she began seeing Lucius Malfoy. At first, me and the other girls would giggle and gossip about it, but as time went on I got worried. Cissy was besotted, completely obsessed, and snuck out with him on a regular basis. He was two years ahead of us and one of those kids who talked about joining up with the Dark Lord after school. He gave me a bad feeling.

Of course when I told _Cissy_that, she went on about how I didn't know anything and had better shut up before someone heard me.

Fifth year slipped away in the blink of an eye, and it was time for the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWLS- our last test of the year.

The exams themselves went alright, I felt I had done well. I'll admit that I probably would have done better if I had been able to keep my eyes off of Sirius Black- I didn't care if he was a smarmy little blood traitor… he was just so good to look at! And _any _other girl would agree…

Anyways- me, Cissy, and the other Slytherin girls (Zurie Zabini, Marla Rookwood, and Jessica Knott) went out to the lake to get some sun and relax. I saw Severus Snape was sitting alone under a tree, and I almost went over to say hello but didn't. The five of us girls started chatting, and it was just like old times before my awkwardness began creeping in. Our happy relaxation was broken, however, by a shout of anger.

I glanced over towards the castle, and groaned as I saw Severus hanging in the air. James Potter was pointing his wand at him and Lily Evans was nearby, completely livid.

"Wondrous." Zurie muttered. "Here we go again."

"Should we go help him?" Marla looked nervous. I think she had a little crush on him.

"He needs to learn to defend himself." Cissy snapped. Marla gave her a reproachful look. Cissy turned faintly pink. "What? Lucius says it _all_the time," she said defensively.

"Oh, well if dear _Lucius_says so…" I muttered. Cissy sharply turned her head towards me.

"You have a problem with Lucius?"

"I have a _problem_with you shagging a seventh year who's got a future that looks about as good being on the run for practicing Dark Magic, if not in Azkaban!"

Cissy turned a very odd shade of purple I never would have expected from a girl with such a delicate complexion. She opened and closed her mouth several times as if searching desperately for something to say. Jessica stepped in instead.

"With the way things are going," she said, "the ideas Lucius has are going to land him in a place a _whole _lot better than Azkaban… if you catch my drift."

"Shush, Jessica!" Cissy moaned. "Don't talk about this out here."

"You guys can't be serious." I gasped. "You don't really think… you don't _agree_…"

Jessica shrugged. "It's the times, Emma. Get with the program. Don't you think things would be better with someone like the Dark Lord running every-"

She was cut off as Marla let out a squeal horror. "Oh gross! Blood! Sev made Potter bleed!"

Our spat was forgotten as we all moved to watch the transpiring events. After Severus's small triumph, Black and Potter mostly had the upper hand, which made the whole thing rather depressing moreover entertaining. Quite the opposite were the non-Slytherins' feelings, judging by the laughter and cheering. After Severus called Lily a mudblood, and she called him Snivellus, things quickly cooled down. Potter almost removed Sev's undies, which would have been pretty disgusting. He just left Snape on the ground, shaking with rage.

My friends and I rushed over. They went off on the usual verbal abuse against the Gryffindors, then congratulated Severus for finally getting rid of Lily.

"You were a bit… harsh." I told him disapprovingly. "I mean, you're like… _friends._"

"Not anymore!" Jessica slapped him on the back. "Good job, Sev!"

"Wait- no." I laughed nervously. "Let's be serious. _Severus-_you have to go apologize, now! Do you want to ruin your friendship?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Jessica narrowed her eyes.

"My _God_. You can't be that far gone!" I cried. "There's nothing wrong with Lily, she's perfectly nice, who _cares_if her parents haven't got any magic?"

"We do." Jessica stood up, and my other friends followed suit. "Emma, hon, she's a muggle-born. _Mud. Blood._"

I stood up too. "Well that's your problem. It's not right, discriminating 'cause her parents don't have magic."

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Well it looks like _you're _the one with a problem. C'mon girls, we're going inside. Later, Emma."

Without a backwards glance, they walked away.

Ha. Pretty great best friends, right?

I was fuming, and almost forgot about Severus until I heard him snickering, "Looks like someone's out of the group…"

"Oh, shut up _Snivellus_," I snapped.

As I walked inside, thinking of ways to apologize for my outburst, something dawned on me- my outlook on life was changing. Now how the _hell_ was I supposed to survive the next two years?


	2. Chapter 2

It was a strange summer; I spent most of the time eating or reading books in the garden. My parents just thought I was just being moody, and left me alone.

I barely had any interaction with my friends. Cissy and I saw each other exactly twice, first at a luncheon our families were at, then shopping. Both times were depressingly awkward.

I absolutely dreaded going back to school, but at platform 9 ¾ , Jessica Knott ran up to me, beaming.

"EMMA! Where have you _been?" _she squealed,_ "_What have you been up to? You didn't write all summer!"

"I- I thought you were mad at me," I stuttered, completely confused. I wasn't the _only _one who didn't write!

"What? Em, five years of best-friendship doesn't go up in smoke just because you went through some stupid little _phase_!" She smiled at me with her perfectly glossed lips. "We _all_ have them! Yours was very, er, public, but-"

"But everything's fine now!" Cissy butted in, appearing from nowhere and also smiling. "Now let's get on the train and find everyone!"

We found a compartment with fellow Slytherins in our year. Throughout the train ride everybody was irritatingly cheerful and it drove me absolutely crazy. Were they seriously just going to _forget_? What was going on?  
>Well... maybe it was for the best. I could just forget too, right?<p>

At dinner, the Sorting Hat sang about the importance of friendship and unity, and Dumbledore's speech essentially reiterated the message, putting an emphasis on the increasingly dark times. Well, that was definitely true. I even noticed a few kids missing from the table- with a pang I realized Evan Rosier was gone. I guess he decided he had better things to do besides complete his seventh year.

During the first week of school, I tried to settle in and make everything better. Unfortunately, it was pretty tough. Tension was at an all-time high in Slytherin. People like Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, and the rest of the wannabe Death Eaters tended to group together in corners, whispering. There was open discussion about the Dark Lord rising to power, about eradicating Mudbloods from Hogwarts, about revealing ourselves to the world and taking total control.

"Do you _hear _this rubbish?" I muttered to Cissy one night in the Common Room. "This is getting so out of hand." 

"Well, I don't know, Lucius says-" 

I groaned and she stopped. Neither of us said anything for a few moments. Finally, she turned to me and said in a very controlled but obviously upset tone, "Emma, I thought you got over that phase." 

"Phase? Cissy, that wasn't a phase! It's just my opinion!"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think Muggles are dirt! This pureblood supremacy mentality is mental, and I don't think Mudbloods should be _kicked out_ of Hogwarts. Come on_, _Cissy, you know how many classes we've had with Lily Evans, she's one of the best witches at our school."

"You know, I've spent a lot of time making sure no one's mad at you; don't ruin it now! Everything can go back to the way it used to be!" She cried desperately. I sighed and returned to my studying, hoping she was right.

A couple of nights later, I was approached by Bellatrix Black and the band of Death Eater wannabes in the Common Room.

She sat down next to me, smiling. "Emma, our families have known each other for a long time, yeah?" she said in a condescending, sugary sweet voice, "Well, as a family friend and fellow pureblood, I –well, _we_– feel we need to speak to you about something."

"We've been hearing that you've said some funny things," said John Avery, narrowing his eyes. "And we want to know what exactly what you mean by them."

I glanced at Cissy, but she turned bright red and turned away. Traitor.

"We just want to make sure that any silly thoughts are out of your head." Bellatrix smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I- I dunno," I stuttered. What was I gonna say? I couldn't lie again, I had to start standing up for myself! "Okay," I started, "I guess I've just been thinking like, I don't have a problem with mudbloods. But I mean, what's so bad about that? Just because they're parents don't have magic-"

"_Merlin_." John Avery rolled his eyes at me. "Don't act so oblivious. We hate mudbloods because their blood is just dirty. They come from _muggles!_"

"Well, why are muggles dirty?"

"Emma… come _on._" He said in a quieter, almost pleading voice. "You can't _understand_ that? You're a pureblood!"

"She doesn't understand," Bellatrix said very loudly, "because she's a blood traitor!"

The room went quiet, and suddenly all eyes were on us. I gulped.

"No!" I cried, "I just- I just-" 

Bellatrix sighed and murmured to Rodolphus Lestrange, "It's people like this the Dark Lord is trying to get rid of, ruining the Slytherin name..." 

And this, my friends, is when I officially snapped. "SINCE WHEN DOES BEING IN SLYTHERIN MEAN BEING A DEATH EATER?" I shouted. 

Everyone jumped, totally surprised by my outburst, except for Bella. She narrowed her eyes.

"Well it sure isn't a place for blood traitor scum."

I became very aware of an angry buzz that was filling the room, almost like everybody's hatred was emanating from them... and being directed at me. I took a step back, worried that one of them would try something. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something running towards me. I jumped out of the way just as a fiery orange curse shot past me, singing part of my hair.

The curse came from this psychotic little third year with frizzy hair- her name was Alecto or something.

She raised her wand again, so I shrieked, _"Impedimenta!"_

She flew back and hit a coffee table.

Oh crap.

While everyone turned to see if she was alright, I ran away.I heard Bellatrix shout behind me, "What's going on? Where is she going?"

I heard more voices behind me as I ran and realized I was being followed. Had these people lost their minds? It took several complicated turns and a good use of secret passageways to lose them. When I looked around, I realized I had _no_ idea where I was. The only distinctive thing about the corridor I was in was a lot of paintings of food.

Rule number one at Hogwarts: **Don't** get lost.

I leaned against the wall to catch my breath, wincing as the cold stone touched my shoulders. Then, deciding there was no way I could get any more lost, I wandered around trying to find some sign of life. Nothing, no one. Everything was totally unfamiliar. Stupid castle. 

Then, there was a big crash and the sound of metal clattering to the floor, followed by a loud voice spewing out cuss words. I peeked around the corner, and saw four boys in my year levitating a good load of food that was obviously stolen from the kitchens.

It was Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

It appeared that Potter had dropped an oversized platter of cookies on his foot, and he was jumping up and down letting out a stream of curses.

"Have you guys been in the kitchens?" I asked, stepping out into the open.

All four boys stopped and stared.

"Um…" Pettigrew swallowed. His gaze was directed a bit too low for my liking.

As I realized that, several things hit me.

One: I was walking around Hogwarts in my nightgown

Two: I had a very long, very fried strip of hair that was still smoking

Three: I was a Slytherin, which meant it was basically _written law _to turn them in for being out after hours.

"What exactly… happened to you?" Lupin asked.

I grimaced. "I was chased out of my bed by a mob of angry Slytherins. They don't really like me."

"Wait…what?" Pettigrew looked confused. "You're like... _popular_."

I shrugged. "They don't really like it when you speak you're mind. And, apparently, when you aren't a Death Eater."

"Oh."

"Um, where are we exactly?"

I had just asked that, when I heard a voice come from behind the tapestry I had just come out of. "Where _is_ she, dammit? I swear I'm gonna kill her…"

I turned white and backed up, wildly looking for somewhere to run.

Seeing this, Potter moved at lightning speed and pulled something out of Black's robe, throwing it over me. It took a moment for me to realize what it was… _an invisibility cloak_.  
>I shifted it so I was fully covered and moved to the side. Bellatrix burst out of the passageway, red in the face.<p>

"We lost her! Rodolphus this is _your_ fault…"

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," he said quickly as he appeared from the hidden corridor as well. Although Bellatrix and Rodolphus were the seventh year alphas, his crush on her was hopeless. I almost pitied him for it.  
>Almost.<br>"Well let's keep going!" Another Death-Eater-wannabe came out behind them.

"You guys…" Cissy poked her head out. "Don't _hurt_ her…"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "She'll get what's com- what are _you_ four doing here?" she spat, trying to hide her bewilderment of finding the Gryffindors standing out in the open.

Potter gave her a look. "The inbreeding's really gotten to you lot, hasn't it?" He drawled,

"Basement equals kitchens. Kitchens equal _food_."

Bellatrix matched Potter's steady gaze. "Do you forget my dearest cousin Sirius? If anyone's touched in the head, it's _that_ sod."

Black rolled his eyes and muttered. "More like I'm the only one that that escaped it. Now," he had a commanding, yet casually disinterested air about him, "we won't tell on _you_ if you don't tell on _us._ Now move along and go do... whatever it is you people do."

The Slytherins left without another word, just lots of glares. When they were gone, I pulled off the cloak and handed it to Potter. "Thanks. A lot." I said

"No problem. Now what exactly is their deal with you?"

I looked away, uncomfortable. "I kind of… well, I guess I just started thinking more about all that pureblood/mudblood stuff, and how it's nonsense... which they don't really like, obviously."

They all nodded slowly and thoughtfully, like they were trying to figure out if I was lying or not.  
>As Potter put his cloak into his pocket, Black gave him a funny look. "Mate, that thing's valuable. You can't just give it to every random girl in distress… especially Slytherins…"<p>

I put my hands on my hips. "I thought I made it clear I disassociate myself from them."

Obviously, they weren't entirely convinced. There were a few moments of silence before I  
>spoke.<p>

"Um… I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore." I said trying to fill the awkward noiselessness. "Or someone. I don't know. Thanks for the help, though. Seriously," I smiled.

"See ya." Black said, still giving me a funny scrutinizing look. I blushed even harder..  
>As I turned to leave, I could see that Lupin's smile was the only one that looked completely genuine. I couldn't really blame them, though- hadn't I spent the last five years jeering rude comments and being an overall bitch around them? I was going to have to work hard to earn a new reputation, or spend the rest of the year in lonesome misery, since it seemed like all of Slytherin was going to totally shun me. Or kill me. Or something along those lines.<p>

I wandered around for a while before I found my way to the teacher's lounge. There were always teachers there, up until around midnight. I was lucky to catch McGonagall.  
>"Miss Doherty!" she cried, surprised. "What are you… <em>why<em> are you-"

I took a deep breath. "I was chased out of my dorms by a bunch of so-called friends who hate me because they say I'm a blood traitor, which I guess I sort of am, but it's really just my views and I hid them for a really long time but it's always been me I can't help it but I like myself better now- _they_ don't but that's just them, you know they way they are- but I can't survive the next two years with them, like really they're kind of crazy and I need to see the Headmaster now, please. Ma'am."

"I believe he's in a meeting right now with some Slytherin students right." she stuttered, still slightly flustered by my sudden appearance

Oh no.  
>It's really not hard to guess which Slytherin students she was talking about.<p>

As soon as McGonagall saw the horrified look on my face, her expression softened a little. Well there's something she'd never done for me before!  
>But her voice and face quickly returned to their usual strict and disciplined quality. "I'll take you to see him now." she said, and with a somewhat confused expression, turned and led the way.<p>

We walked to the office in silence, and got there just as the other Slytherins were leaving. It was most of same kids who'd been chasing me. As we passed them they all shot me total death-glares and I tried to look small. As soon as Dumbledore saw me, he raised his eyebrows.

"Miss Doherty… I've just heard an earful about you. Well then, sit down."

I chose a comfortable looking armchair, and immediately sunk six inches into the cushions. Trying to reposition myself so I didn't get sucked into stuffing, I cleared my throat. "Er… yeah. About that conversation with the other Slytherins you had…"

"You don't seem to be the favorite in your House right now."

"Well... yeah."

"Miss Doherty," the headmaster laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "what I heard from the other Slytherin students is, well, a little confusing. Quite frankly, they seemed to be describing a person very different from the Emma Doherty that I'd seen before. So I'd like to discuss that."

Instead of responding immediately, I tried to find the right words to say while looking around the room.  
>The office was furnished with taste, but Dumbledore's eccentricity was extremely apparent from all of the odd objects about, clicking and whirring and smoking. I spotted the Sorting Hat on tall mahogany shelf nearby, and felt my stomach tighten. I distinctly remembered our conversation six years before… the hat had said I was un-Slytherin. Before it had seemed impossible, but now it was quite obviously correct. There was just no denying it.<p>

"Miss Doherty?" Dumbledore's voice broke me away from my memory  
>I sighed. "The other Slytherins and me... well, we never quite meshed right. Everyone else thought I was ok, but I knew inside it wasn't really right, I knew that something didn't click with me and them. At first it wasn't too bad, but then started getting worse. Lately it's been getting really... difficult. <em>Really <em>really difficult."

"I have been told that you ran out of the Common Room after attacking a third year?"

I let out a tiny gasp of indignation. "You mean that Carrow chick? _She_ attacked _me,_ while I was just standing there! Do you see my hair?"

"I see. I thought your story may have been a bit different than theirs. Now, what were you saying about things not 'clicking'?"

"Oh... well, um, to be honest, sir…" I looked down, the blurted, "I don't want to be in Slytherin!"

"Ah." he leaned back. "And why is this?"

"Why? It's awful! I hate them! All of them! Well, _most_ of them anyways. I mean, I had a lot of friends but now everyone hates me and thing has gotten completely out of order and people are always talking about the Dark Lord and I'm always going along with things I don't believe in and now I've gone and _completely _blown it all up, and they're ALL going to hate me now, they'll call me blood traitor freak! I'm proud of it, I guess _now _I am, but where do I have to go and-"

"Emma." Dumbledore stopped me. "Please, slow down."

He was being very calm about the whole situation, when there was the happiness and well-being, not to mention social life, of one of his students at stake.

So I decided to try again. "I'm only in it because of my family. The Sorting Hat warned me before, about me not doing well in Slytherin." I explained. "I didn't listen, which was _stupid_. Now I'm stuck and I have to spend the next two years with these people! I'm going to go insane!"

I was on the brink of tears, as well as hysteria. Dumbledore seemed to realize this, and leaned forward. "Miss Doherty, I'm very sorry that you are going through this." he said in a sympathetic voice, "I understand how much stress has been put on students since Voldemort's rise to power."

I jumped a little, surprised at hearing him say the Dark Lord's name. Nobody in Slytherin would _dare _say it.

"Now, do you think you'll be fine going to bed?"

I made a face. "I guess so, as long as everyone is asleep…"  
>He leaned back. "Well, after the… <em>talk<em> I had with them earlier, I'm sure you'll be fine."

He sent me along to go back to bed, but when I got back to the dungeons I was greeted by a very unhappy sight.  
>All of my belongings were sitting, perfectly packed, outside of the blank stone wall that was the entrance to the Common Room<p>

"Password?" the familiar disembodied voice asked as soon as I was close enough

"Thestral Wings…" I replied absentmindedly, staring at my trunk. Who had put that there? The girls from my dorm?

"Wrong." the voice said.

"Huh?" I snapped my head up.

"Wrong password. Try again."

"_Wrong_?" I shrieked. "No! It's thestral wings!"

"Try again."

They _changed_ the damn _password_ on me. I had been kicked out of my own house.  
>Staring at my trunk on the ground, I <em>could<em> think of one good thing about this situation- at least they had packed my stuff for me!  
>Ah, optimism. It can make any crappy situation better.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

After putting on some warm robes, I wandered around for a bit, and bumped into McGonagall yet again.

"Miss Doherty!" she exclaimed, "What on _earth_…?"

"I can't get back in." my voice was monotone, emotionless. "The password's different."

"Are you sure?" she groaned, "How is that even _possible_? The wall- oh, never mind. I suppose you can stay in the Hospital Wing for now..."

"Really?" I beamed

"Yes, now hurry up; I need my sleep too."

Madame Pomfrey was hesitant (to say the least) to let me stay, complaining about how I would disturb the sick. She gave in when McGonagall mentioned that there was only one person in the Hospital Wing, who would be out the next day.

By the time I got into bed, I was too tired to really think about what had happened- after all, it was getting late. I just fell asleep, then didn't wake up until noon the next day.

Of course, as soon as I woke up I had to come to terms with the fact that the "crazy dream" of the night before _actually happened_.  
>I flipped. I cried, a little, and then sulked, a lot.<p>

My best friends had turned on me. No, _everyone I knew_ had turned on me.  
>I laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. This could <em>not <em>be happening. It wasn't like I was a blood traitor, right? No. I couldn't be a _blood traitor _just because I didn't mind non-purebloods. Purebloods made up such a tiny fraction of the magical community, but everyone seemed to be clinging to some medieval ideal no longer made any sense.  
><em>It's this stupid, bloody war<em>, I thought, _It has everyone mixed up. Me too, I guess._  
>It was Saturday, so I was faced with intense boredom. I did my homework for a while, but I couldn't keep focused long enough to finish it. I ended up wandering around the castle. That's what I did for the rest of the day, and that's what I did all of Sunday.<br>Maybe you think that's boring, spending a day and a half just walking around castle! Okay, well, it was.  
>I did discover a few interesting hidden passageways, and a few wings I'd never even been <em>near<em> before (magic castles are larger than they seem), but it was still the dullest, loneliest weekend of my life.  
>I wasn't sure what rumors had spread, and I didn't want to find out just yet. I <em>definitely<em> didn't want to answer questions. But when I woke up on Monday, I knew I couldn't avoid it anymore- I had to go to class. And that meant all Slytherins, all day.

I had visions of being brutally cursed/beaten/stoned to death as soon as I stepped into the classroom, but everyone just... ignored me. Considering my expectations, this was a relief, but it was also very off-putting. _No one _would make eye contact with me or acknowledge my presence in any manner. Unfortunately, the tension in the room was obvious, to the point where students in other houses seemed to catch on.

Tuesday was the same- I sat alone in class, and tried to ignore the Slytherins ignoring me, while also ignoring the other kids wondering why everyone was ignoring me.  
>Then, as I was walking from eating lunch alone in the library to potions (the most dreaded class of the day, since it was taught by Slughorn), a Gryffindor girl in my year ran up to me.<br>"Emma." she stated, beaming at me like an old friend.  
>I blinked at her. I'd only ever heard her refer to me as Doherty, just as I had always referred to her as Parker, instead of her real name, Perry.<br>"Hi," I mumbled, unsure of why she was talking to me.  
>"Sooo, we're all wondering, what's going on with you and the Slytherins?"<p>

I opened my mouth, but no words came out as I was a little surprised. Here was this girl that I had never had a friendly conversation with, coming up to me out of the blue to ask about my social life?

"I mean," she continued without waiting for my response, "The boys -that's uh, James, Peter, Sirius, Remus- told me about some random Slytherin chick who all the other Slytherins chased out of the dormitories, and how they all hated her now, and I'm guessing that was you. Am I right? I am, aren't I? Well, why did they get mad at you? They chased you out of your House? Why would they do that? I mean, I could see a few of them getting pissed at you, but like the whole House totally going all 'oh wow, we're gonna kill you we hate you' that's so not normal, yeah? Yeah."

"Uh... yeah." I coughed. "Um, they decided I'm not exactly pureblood enough for them."

"Not pureblood enough?"

"Yeah. They say I'm a blood traitor or something."

"Well, are you?" she asked, twirling her blond hair.

Again, I was surprised by her bluntness. "Um... no?"

But then I paused and thought. I had already been over this with myself- I was not a blood traitor. I was proud that I was a pureblood, and that I came from an old family. I'd learned my whole life that blood traitors were bad, so how could I be one when I didn't feel like I'd done anything wrong? I'd just gotten older, grown up a little.  
>Then again, by this time I had <em>also <em>figured out that basically every pureblood value I'd learned in my life was totally mental.

So maybe the whole 'blood traitor=bad' idea was just another thing I'd been brainwashed to believe, when really 'blood-traitor' was just some ugly term people like the Malfoys and Lestranges threw around to belittle people who weren't exactly like them.

As this realization sunk in, I vigorously shook my head. "Wait, no, never mind. I'm…" I took a deep breath. "I guess you could say I'm a blood traitor."

Perry beamed. "Well, that's just fantastic!" she grabbed my arm. "Come on, we'll be late for Potions!"

And then without another word she yanked me down to class.  
>When we got there, a group had formed outside the doors, which were evidently locked. The Slytherins were grouped on one side of the corridor, and the Gryffindors on another side like it always was when Slughorn was late. Perry continued her grasp on my arm as she walked over to the Gryffindors.<p>

"Um, Perry," Sirius Black gave her a funny look, "What are you doing with Doherty?"

Perry laughed and rolled her eyes, releasing me from her death-grip. "_Emma_, here, is cool now."

All the Gryffindors were now staring at us.

Lily Evans opened her mouth, as if trying to say something, but it seemed she could only manage to get out a garbled "Um?"

Seeing everyone's dumbstruck faces, Perry laughed. "She's a blood traitor!" she announced happily, like it explained everything. I blushed, embarrassed by their confused stares. Evidently the rest of Gryffindor wasn't a bubbly and welcoming as her.

I noticed a few Slytherins breaking their apparent vows of ignoring me to watch what was playing out.

_Great, _I thought, _Now I'm an even _bigger_ freak show._

None of the Gryffindors spoke. I looked down and avoided eye contact with any of them, especially the four boys who I had run into that night.

Finally someone said something. It was a girl with curly brown hair and an Irish accent, Layne Finnigan. "Wait, this is _Emma Doherty_ we're talking about here." She stated, "Her family is like, old blood."

I coughed. She could talk to _me,_ instead of Perry.

"And she's always been such a _bitch._" Evie Mellor, who had always been the bitchiest of the Gryffindor girls in our year, snapped.

"I'm uh, right here you guys," I waved my hand.

"Oh... right. Well, then," Evie turned, and looked me up and down with a judging stare. She glanced at Lily. "What do you think?"

Lily scrunched up her lips. "Well..." she said thoughtfully, "she _used_ to be nice,"

"I wouldn't be talking to _Doherty _if I were you," John Avery jumped into the conversation from the other side of the corridor. "I bet you didn't hear about the third year she attacked!"  
>"I did <em>not<em> attack her!" I cried, wheeling around to face him. Merlin, a week ago we had been _friends_. "That's bullshit, Avery. Are you _really_ gonna go that low?"

And I swear to God, for one moment he actually looked like he felt bad. But just then Slughorn appeared, quickly waddling down the hall.

"Sorry I'm late! But I'm here now, so get into the room, get your books out."

I sighed, happy to get away from the spotlight, at least for a moment. For the rest of the day, everywhere I went, every class, I had to endure nervous, confused, and curious glances from all of my classmates, as they whispered to their friends the rumors they had heard.

The week continued on in a similar fashion. No one in Slytherin spoke to me, not even Narcissa.

Then on Friday night, just after I had eaten dinner in the library, alone, again, I was called to the staff room.  
>There sat all of the teachers and a group of people I assumed to be the school governors.<br>In the middle of the room, a familiar old stool with a familiar old hat sitting on it.

"Miss Doherty." Dumbledore smiled. "After a long bout of… discussion, we have come to the conclusion that for you own safety you should be re-sorted. If the Hat decides you are best in Slytherin, you _must_ stay there. If not… well, then we'll see."

I gulped, a knot tightening in my stomach and my legs turning to jelly. Was this _really_ what I wanted? Was it really too late to go back and fix everything?

But of course, I could never go back. Even if they would take me, I couldn't live with myself. I managed to nod, unable to speak. The governors sat still as stone, looking serious and grave and stuffy.  
>Jittery under the expectant gazes of so many, I forced myself to walk over to the stool, sit down and put the Sorting Hat on my head. This was worse than being sorted in first year.<p>

"Emma Doherty. Again?" I heard the Hat's voice in my head  
><em>Just couldn't stay away!<em>  
>"This is certainly an interesting predicament you're in. Quite uncommon."<br>_Tell me about it._  
>"Well, I told you before, Slytherin does not seem to be the best fit."<br>_Yeah, I got that now._  
>"You seem to have even less care for your pureblood heritage then when we first met. And you certainly lack the ambition Slytherin House holds so dear."<br>_Excuse me?_  
>"Well, I'm going to have to tell you what I would have said when we first spoke… Gryffindor."<br>_Whoah, there._  
><em>Gryffindor?<em> Seriously? Gryffindor was the polar opposite of Slytherin. There was no way I'd be accepted there. I'd seen their reaction to me- not so good.  
>Though no matter what my choice was, would <em>any<em> House be much better with the whole acceptance thing?  
><em>Well, what about the other Houses? <em>I asked desperately  
>"Hufflepuff may work, your Aunt did do fine there…"<br>_Nope, I'm not going to be another Aunt Lida_. _Hey,_ _I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw, right?_  
>"Oh, I suppose, but let's be serious. Do you really have the drive?"<br>I sighed. _No_._ I'd be rubbish at being that much of an overachiever_. _They'd make fun of me_.  
>"Miss Doherty, I think you know what House you'll flourish in."<p>

"Fine." I whispered. I guess the most drastic choice was the best one, too. "Gryffindor it is."

_"Very good_." The hat said in my head, then announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Immediately the room erupted with noise. Cheers, boos, exclamations of shock. Dumbledore quieted them down quickly enough, and then turned to me.

"Well, Miss Doherty, it appears that you are Gryffindor's newest member."

Oh, boy.

Well, here's to the start of a grand new year- it's going to be interesting.


End file.
